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The Sugar Act
April 5, 1764: The Sugar Act is passed, lowering the import tax on foreign molasses and placing a heavy tax on Madeira wine. The Sugar Act mandated that all goods headed to the colonies first passed through Britain. Goods that could only be traded with Britain included timber and iron. The purpose of the Sugar Act was to raise revenue for Britain, primarily from New England. Colonists opposed the Act, but were not united in their protest.
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The Stamp Act
Enacted on November 1, 1765, The Stamp Act was the first internal tax imposed on the colonies by Parliament. The Stamp Act required all colonists to purchase watermarked, taxed paper for use in newspapers and legal documents. It was met with firm opposition from the colonists. Boycotts on British goods and attacks on the tax collectors were common. British Parliament hoped the taxes collected would help pay for British troops in the colonies. image credit: www.benfranklinsworld.com -
The Quartering Act
The Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonial legislature to pay for supplies for British troops stationed in the colonies. The colonists disputed the legality of this Act, and in 1766, New York refused to comply. Parliament suspended New York’s Governor and legislature in 1767 and 1769. All other colonies, except Pennsylvania, refused to comply with the Quartering Act; this act expired on March 24, 1767. -
The Declaratory Act
March 1766; In addition to repealing the unpopular Sugar Act, the British Parliament passed The Declaratory Act, designed to affirm it's power to rule over the colonies. The declaration stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as in Britain and gave Parliament to power to legislate the colonies "in all cases whatsoever". The colonists weren't initially angry over the Act. Eventually the colonists revolted.
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The Townshend Duties
July 2, 1767: The Townshend duties were the collected import taxes imposed by the Revenue Act of 1767. The Revenue Act taxed glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea entering the colonies. The colonists were angry over the taxes, as they were clearly passed in an effort to raise revenue for the British treasury rather than to regulate trade. In 1770, the British repealed the Townshend Act in an attempt to pacify the angry colonists.
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